Claire Merle's Blog, page 2

ANNOUNCING THE SUMMER YA SCAVENGER HUNT AUTHORS!

It’s that time again! Another exciting YA Scavenger Hunt is coming up. This summer the Hunt will have two teams (RED & BLUE) of 27 authors each. I’m on team RED. There are several new authors, lots of excellent bonus material and extra prizes, and look at all those books! Get ready, it’s starting on Wednesday…

THE RED TEAM

JOSEPHINE ANGELINI

LEAH BOBET

LISA BURSTEIN

KRISTI COOK

JULIE CROSS

TRACY DEEBS

KIMBERLY DERTING

TARA FULLER

DAVID MACINNIS GILL

JANET GURTLER

RACHEL HARRIS

ELISSA J. HOOLE

AMALIE HOWARD

CORRINE JACKSON

STACEY KADE

JESSICA KHOURY

JONATHAN MABERRY

CLAIRE MERLE

COURTNEY ALLISON MOULTON

GREGG OLSEN

JOCELYN DAVIES

LISSA PRICE

PETER ADAM SALOMON

JERI SMITH-READY

JESSICA SPOTSWOOD

TERI TERRY

LANI WOODLAND

THE BLUE TEAM

HEATHER ANASTASIU

JENNIFER L. ARMENTROUT

GWENDA BOND

TERA LYNN CHILDS

ANGELA CORBETT

GINA DAMICO

ED DEHORATIUS

LEIGH FALLON

MARLEY GIBSON

SHAUNA GRANGER

CYNTHIA HAND

NANCY HOLDER

COLLEEN HOUCK

TARA HUDSON

DENISE JADEN

MIRANDA KENNEALLY

SUZANNE LAZEAR

JODI MEADOWS

ALEXANDRA MONIR

E.C. MYERS

ERICA O’ROURKE

AMY PLUM

CARRIE RYAN

JESSICA SHIRVINGTON

J.A. SOUDERS

VICTORIA STRAUSS

DEBBIE VIGUIE

_____________________________________________________

Join THE GLIMPSE book party!

My book officially launches today! (Throws confetti). After years of dreaming about this, it seems pretty surreal.

To celebrate The Glimpse book birthday, I’ve decided I want to do something you can all take part in. So I’m going to be doing a giveaway with a special, one-of-a-kind Gimpse Birthday Prize. Check out how you can join in and win on my blog: www.clairemerlebooks.wordpress.com

Join THE GLIMPSE book party!

My book officially launches today! (Throws confetti). After years of dreaming about this, it seems pretty surreal.

To celebrate The Glimpse book birthday, I’ve decided I want to do something you can all take part in. So I’m going to be doing a giveaway with a special, one-of-a-kind Gimpse Birthday Prize.

THE PRIZE:
A star necklace (an important icon in The Glimpse) and a signed copy of the book.

 

 

To win this gorgeous star necklace AND signed copy of The Glimpse all you have to do is:
a.) For 1 point tweet: The Glimpse @clairemerle is celebrating her first book birthday TODAY! Join the party & win prizes: http://www.clairemerlebooks.wordpress.com
b.) For 1 point: Like my author facebook page and leave a comment to let me know you want an extra point for the Glimpse birthday prize.
The winner will be chosen at random tomorrow, 8th June at 10.a.m. French time.
IN ADDITION to celebrate The Glimpse birthday,  for TODAY only, I will send anyone who purchases a copy of The Glimpse a signed bookplate!

Email me at clairemerlefiction@yahoo.co.uk, with a copy of your receipt dated 7th June. (Doesn’t matter where you purchase from as long as the receipt in the 7th June & the name of the book is on the receipt.) The book must be paperback (otherwise you’ll have nothing to stick the bookplate into!) Though purchase must be made between 7th June, you can email me with your receipt up until 10th June.
If you are purchasing online you can buy from these retailers: U.K., U.S.,  Australia, Canada, Germany, Worldwide.

What a debuting author does the day before her book hits the shops:

Propping myself up on my elbows I squint at the clock on the far shelf – 7 a.m. It’s Wednesday and as I live in France that means no school for my boys. (Yes, they have EVERY Wednesday off.) No sounds come from next door in the boys’ bedroom, so I lie back down just for a minute, close my eyes, and the next thing I know it is 8 a.m. Leaving my husband still in bed, I creep down stairs and make myself some coffee, flip open the computer, check twitter (Wow, a year ago I didn’t even understand the concept of twitter – help!) Then I start work on writing posts for my book blog tour.

At 8.30 a.m. the boys trundle down the stairs, my three-year-old demanding that I ‘heat him up’ with ‘the cuddles’. I oblige. Make more coffee. Sneak my computer upstairs to my little office. Check Face Book. Husband comes and peeks head around the door for good morning kiss. (Wishful thinking) Husband goes downstairs to see the boys.  OK, he’s sorting the boys out with breakfast, I’ll let him off. Now he’s coming back up for his shower. I’m working – promise. Eventually, he comes in at 9.30 a.m. for a morning/ goodbye kiss. Once he’s gone, I jump into the shower, pack the boys up and drive to my dad’s. My dad’s about to go to Greece for four months and this is the last chance we’ll get to see him for a while.

By a strange twist of fate, my dad married a Bulgarian/French woman and moved to France six years ago, (four years after I moved here). He then bought a house on the river in the countryside five minutes from where I got married!

I spend the day relaxing, playing with my boys, chatting to my step-mum and dad, and going for a long walk. When we get back I check my emails and find out my book has been chosen as the editors’ pick for best books of the month on Amazon UK. Whoop! Whoop!

Great ‘wind down’ day. OK, I’m ready…

 

2nd Featured Author Giveaway – Rebecca James

Welcome to my second FEATURED AUTHOR GIVEAWAY, where I tell you about an author I love and give away a copy of her book!

I first came across Rebecca James last year when I read her YA psychological thriller BEAUTIFUL MALICE. Publisher’s Weekly sums the book up like this, ‘James, gifted with unusual insight into teenage agonies, probes Katherine’s raw-nerve guilt over her sister Rachel’s murder, Alice’s self-destructive narcissism, and the healing power of young love.’ Sounds intriguing? It is excellent! Beautiful Malice has been sold in over 20 countries. Here’s the blurb:

Book Description: Beautiful Malice

‘Truth or dare?’ She asks.

I hesitate. ‘Truth,’ I say finally. ‘I can imagine one of your dares, and I don’t fancy running down Oxford Street naked tonight.’

‘Truth,’ Alice says slowly, drawing out the vowel sound as if she’s savouring the word. ‘Are you sure? Are you sure you can be completely honest?’

‘I think so. Try me.’

‘Okay.’ And then she looks at me curiously. ‘So. Were you glad, deep down? Were you glad to be rid of her? Your perfect sister? Were you secretly glad when she was killed?’

Katherine has moved away from her shattered family to start afresh in Sydney. There she keeps her head down until she is befriended by the charismatic, party-loving Alice, who brings her out of her shell. But there is a dark side to Alice, something seductive yet threatening. And as Katherine learns the truth about Alice, their tangled destinies spiral to an explosive and devastating finale.

MY REACTION after reading BEAUTIFUL MALICE:

“Brilliant, awful, heart-breaking, powerful, tender… this book is all these things and more! I’m totally in awe. While I was reading, I couldn’t help but cringe as I remembered some of the stupid things we did as teenagers and got away with, and how life-shattering it is when you don’t. Don’t miss this book!”

Rebecca lives in Australia with her partner and their four sons. She is currently writing her second book “Little Deaths”, which I can’t wait to read!

ADD BEAUTIFUL MALICE TO YOUR GOODREADS LIST.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT REBECCA

To win a copy of BEAUTIFUL MALICE go to The Glimpse facebook page HERE and leave a question for Rebecca, or a comment letting me know you’d like to win the book. Rebecca will be dropping by the Glimpse facebook page over the next couple of days to answer your questions!

Right now you can also win a copy of THE GLIMPSE on Soumi’s blog Pages From My Thoughts.

Featured Author Giveaway – Rebecca Lim

Welcome to my first FEATURED AUTHOR GIVEAWAY, where I tell you about one of my favourite authors and give away a copy of their book!

I first came across Rebecca Lim after reading her YA mystery about a fallen angel, MERCY. I totally loved MERCY. It left me breathless and hungry for more. (More about that in a minute!) Since then, Rebecca and I have become online friends and she is not only an awesome writer but a gorgeous person too. So today I’m giving away a copy of MERCY, or to anyone who is already into the series, I’ll give you whichever book you’re waiting on next.

First a little about MERCY:

Book Description

Mercy ′wakes′ on a school bus bound for Paradise, a small town where everyone knows everyone else′s business — or thinks they do. But they will never guess the secret Mercy is hiding ….

As an angel exiled from heaven and doomed to return repeatedly to Earth, Mercy is never sure whose life and body she will share each time. And her mind is filled with the desperate pleas of her beloved, Luc, who can only approach her in her dreams.

In Paradise, Mercy meets Ryan, whose sister was kidnapped two years ago and is now presumed dead. When another girl disappears, Mercy and Ryan know they must act before time runs out. But a host of angels are out for Mercy′s blood and they won′t rest until they find her and punish her — for a crime she doesn′t remember committing …

An electric combination of angels, mystery and romance, MERCY is the first book in a major new series.

HOW THIS BOOK LEFT ME FEELING:

Wow! Fantastic! Want to read the next one right now, as in NOW! (And that hardly EVER happens to me. Usually, I like a break between books in the same series.)

I embarked on this book knowing nothing about it except it had come highly recommended from a friend and I’m so glad I did. I really enjoyed Lim’s writing style, the narrative intrigue was brilliantly done and Mercy is a strong, wonderful character. I love the way Lim has managed to write a complete and very satisfying story and still maintain such mystery around Mercy and her past – mystery that makes me want to plunge into book 2 straight away. The tantalising romantic attraction between Mercy and Ryan left me hoping Mercy will somehow meet Ryan again!!

You can hook up with Rebecca on facebook here:

To win the copy of Mercy go to The Glimpse facebook page here:  and leave a question for Rebecca or let us know you’d like to win Mercy.

 

ARC Giveaway Winner

The Winner of the signed advanced copy of The Glimpse giveaway (ending Tues 10th April) is

RACHEL (@unforgettablebooks)

CONGRATULATIONS RACHEL!

Everyone else, there will be other chances to win The Glimpse coming up soon - Promise! In the meantime, I’ve included an extract below of the FIRST blogger review of The Glimpse now in. To read the whole review go to Bookmarks & Bookshelves.

Thanks to everyone who entered the competition. Hope you all had a lovely Easter.

GABBY @ BOOKMARKS & BOOKSHELVES:

'An astounding debut. Claire Merle has introduced a dystopian that is thought provoking and will leave you heart pounding way beyond the last page.'

IT'S HERE! IT'S HERE! WOHOO!!!!

Two weeks ago, advanced copies of my book were mailed from my address in London and never made it through the French post... fingers crossed, I'm still hoping those copies turn up. So, on Monday a new shipping was sent and tracked and it's arrived! I'm actually holding my book!!!

To celebrate, I'm giving away my first signed advanced copy. These signed proofs are going to be pretty rare, (especially if the first package doesn't show up!)

How can you win it?!

I'm going to make it really easy for you! All you need to do is like my AUTHOR facebook page (Claire Merle, Author) and or sign up to follow my blog - www.clairemerlebooks.wordpress.com (If you follow my goodreads blog, just let me know. That counts for a point!). The contest will be points-based so you can get a total of 3 points, (one for following the FB page, one for following the blog, and one for tweeting about the giveaway) to be entered into the virtual hat of Randomizer.org to win the prize.

The contest is open internationally and will end on April 10th, at 10 a.m. French time. The winner will be announced later on in the day.

Don't forget to leave a comment on the blog or my AUTHOR fb page to let me know you've entered. (If you already follow the blog or the fb page that's fine. Your entries will still be counted. Just let me know!)

IF YOU WANT TO TWEET FOR THE GIVEAWAY, PLEASE INCLUDE A LINK BACK TO MY BLOG http://clairemerlebooks.wordpress.com... THANKS SO MUCH FOR ALL THE RTs FOLLOWS & LIKES!

YA Scavenger Hunt update

Hello Everybody,

Wow! Check out the amazing lineup for this Spring's YA Scavenger Hunt!  This year it's bigger and badder than ever before with 60 YA authors giving away signed copies of their books and other fabulous prizes. You DON'T want to miss this. There are so many books that I would LOVE to get my hands on!

JUS ACCARDO

AMBER ARGYLE



LISA T. BERGREN



LISA BURSTEIN


SOFIE COUCH



KIMBERLY DERTING



LAURA A.H. ELLIOTT



CHRISTINE FONSECA



ABBI GLINES



CYNTHIA HAND



KAREN AMANDA HOOPER



S.R. JOHANNES



GINA LINKO



GRETCHEN MCNEIL



MIKE MULLIN



ERICA O’ROURKE



JOY PREBLE



JESSICA SHIRVINGTON

[image error]

TIFFANY TRUITT



DEBBIE VIGUIE



ANN AGUIRRE



JENNIFER L. ARMENTROUT



LEAH BOBET



TERA LYNN CHILDS



WILLOW CROSS



DJ DESMYTER



LEIGH FALLON



TARA FULLER



JANET GURTLER



CINDY HOGAN



COLLEEN HOUCK



ELANA JOHNSON



JAMIE MANNING



CLAIRE MERLE



S.L. NAEOLE



GREGG OLSEN



LISA & LAURA ROECKER



JERI SMITH-READY



CAT KALEN



LANI WOODLAND



JOSEPHINE ANGELINI



BRODI ASHTON



CK BRYANT



ANGELA CORBETT



GINA DAMICO



BREE DESPAIN



BETH FANTASKEY



MARLEY GIBSON



RAE HACHTON



NANCY HOLDER



TARA HUDSON



SUZANNE LAZEAR



MYRA MCENTIRE



ALEXANDRA MONIR



LISA NOWAK



AMY PLUM



INARA SCOTT



TISH THAWER



MAGAN VERNON



RASHELLE WORKMAN

There is a website just for the Scavenger Hunts. Click on the YA Scavenger Hunt image below to be redirected there. Because there are so many authors this time we are breaking into three groups. We have BLUE TEAM, RED TEAM, and YELLOW TEAM!

Each group is made up of 20 authors and I am on  TEAM RED!

This means that my bonus material will be found on the red team. If you get lost on the hunt simply return to the hunt website and pick up where you left off. While you check out the website, don't forget to vote on the polls, follow the site, and check out all the prizes. You can even tweet from there too!

 

THE YA SCAVENGER HUNT BEGINS THURSDAY MARCH 29TH AT NOON PACIFIC TIME AND ENDS SUNDAY APRIL 1ST AT NOON PACIFIC TIME! THAT GIVES YOU ONLY 72 HOURS

TO COMPLETE THE HUNT!

GOOD LUCK TO ALL!___________________________________________________________________

We've found Tamsin!!

It's official!! Director Andrea Kapos and myself have cast fifteen-year-old Pien Meulensteen to play the role of Tamsin Strike in The Glimpse video diaries. During the auditions, I was immediately captivated by Pien’s performance. She portrayed the character of Tamsin with an edgy charm that I found irresistible. I felt like I was seeing the Tamsin from my book come to life! I’m really excited we’ve found her for the video diaries. We saw lots of wonderful actresses but Pien really 'felt' like Tamsin. Will keep you posted on how the filming goes in a couple of weeks, and congratulations Pien!!

If you want to find out more about The Glimpse video diaries you can follow facebook.com/theglimpse for all the lastest news. They'll be released free on facebook in May.